Last night, I had the weirdest dream.

You know, the kind of dream where everything feels like it means something deep, but in the morning, you’re like, Wait, what? So, there I am, floating through space—no big deal—except instead of stars, the sky is filled with swirling galaxies and giant clouds made of… cotton candy? Yeah, I don’t know either. And in the middle of this intergalactic sugar rush, this woman appears—glowing, her hair made of stars and nebulae. She looked like she knew things. Ancient wisdom-type stuff.

She stared right at me and said, “The universe is watching, but it also really likes when you remember to hydrate.”

And then I woke up.

Weird, right? I thought so too. But hey, it’s a dream. It’s not supposed to make sense. I laughed it off, got dressed, and headed to work like it was any other Thursday.

Spoiler: It was not any other Thursday.

As soon as I walk into the office, things start getting… weird. First off, Gary from accounting is wearing a shirt with swirling galaxies all over it. Exactly like the sky in my dream. And I’m talking same colors, same weird vibe, everything.

“Hey, nice shirt, Gary,” I say, trying not to sound like I just saw a ghost. “Where’d you get it?”

He glances down, frowning. “Oh, this old thing? I found it in the back of my closet this morning. Didn’t even remember buying it. Weird, right?”

Yeah. Weird is one word for it.

But then, it gets weirder. I sit down at my desk and open my email, and the first message I see is from our boss, titled: “Important: Stay Hydrated!!”

No joke. Hydration. Just like the space lady said.

“Okay, this is freaky,” I mutter, clicking on the email. It’s a company-wide memo reminding us to drink more water because someone fainted last week from dehydration. I feel a little lightheaded myself, but more from the what is happening right now of it all than from lack of H2O.

I text my friend Sasha.

Me: Dude, I had the weirdest dream last night and now it’s happening IRL.
Sasha: What? Like, deja vu?
Me: No, like, LITERALLY happening. Stars, space, hydration??
Sasha: Are you high?
Me: Not the point. Meet me at lunch. Bring tinfoil for hats.

As the day goes on, more dream elements creep into reality. During a meeting, the projector starts glitching, and for a split second, it shows this image of a woman with hair full of stars. The same woman from my dream. I practically jump out of my seat.

“Did anyone else see that?!” I ask, looking around the room like a crazy person.

Everyone just shrugs, completely unphased, and continues with their PowerPoints like the cosmos didn’t just interrupt our quarterly sales strategy.

At this point, I’m fully convinced I’ve either crossed into some alternate dimension, or I’m in a very low-budget episode of The Twilight Zone. By the time lunch rolls around, I’m half-expecting to see cotton candy clouds floating over the cafeteria.

Instead, it’s even worse. There, in the middle of the lunch line, is a brand-new item on the menu: Cosmic Cotton Candy Yogurt.

I knew it.

I grab my food, find Sasha, and sit down, shaking my head.

“Okay, you’re going to think I’m nuts,” I say, explaining everything. The dream, the shirt, the hydration memo, the star-lady PowerPoint hack.

Sasha just stares at me for a second, then bursts out laughing. “You’re telling me the universe is sending you cosmic messages… about drinking water and cotton candy?”

I throw my hands up. “Apparently!”

Sasha takes a dramatic sip of her water bottle. “Well, looks like I’m already ahead of the universe. You should probably drink up before some celestial being shows up and pours it down your throat.”

“Ha. Ha.” I take a sip of my water, just in case.

By the end of the day, things are almost back to normal. Almost. Except for one last thing. As I’m packing up to leave, I get a text from an unknown number:

“The universe says good job. Stay curious. Also, don’t forget to pick up snacks.”

I stare at my phone, half-expecting it to sprout stars and start floating. I text back.

Me: “Who is this?”
Unknown: “You know who.”

I look around the office, like the answers are just floating there, but nothing feels out of place. Just the ordinary hum of post-workday exhaustion.

So, I grab my stuff, shake my head, and leave. But you know what? As I walk to my car, I stop and look up at the sky. No swirling galaxies or cosmic women this time—just clouds and a regular sunset. But for some reason, I can’t help but smile.

Because maybe, just maybe, the universe is watching. And apparently, it has a pretty good sense of humor.

And an obsession with hydration.

Writing Prompt for Day 13 OctoPoWriMo:

The Field of Dreams
You have a strange dream—and then, as you arrive at work the next day, it seems as if elements from the dream
are playing out in reality, scene by scene.